The Wii's Place In The Console War...

[Dreddz]

The PlayStation3 is getting gang-raped so badly by the other two consoles that I can say with certainty that it getting out of last place is a pipe-dream.

Not really. The PS3 sold very well last month and only down a 100,000 from the 360.

As far as the Wii goes, its been very well marketed and Im not surprised its done so well but for the non-casual gamers its easy to see through Nintendo's PR talk and see that the system lacks any longevity and will always be third place in terms of software. Nintendo think they can squeeze more life into the system with peripherals but they can only last so long. 2008 is going to be the turning point with the Wii, in sales and public opinion. People can argue that it still has games on the way such as Smash Bros's but fail to realise that Nintendo's software will only attract its loyal fanbase, not the casual gamers who have never bought a console, who are the ones making Nintendo so rich. When non-gamers are bored of Wii sports Nintendo wont any anything to drive its console and thus we will see its decline. And thats just next year in my opinion, Nintendo think they can make the system last for up to 5 years but thats a complete joke. The PS3 and 360 have staying power, the Wii does not.

[Mr Cactuar]

The PlayStation3 is getting gang-raped so badly by the other two consoles that I can say with certainty that it getting out of last place is a pipe-dream.

Not really. The PS3 sold very well last month and only down a 100,000 from the 360.

As far as the Wii goes, its been very well marketed and Im not surprised its done so well but for the non-casual gamers its easy to see through Nintendo's PR talk and see that the system lacks any longevity and will always be third place in terms of software. Nintendo think they can squeeze more life into the system with peripherals but they can only last so long. 2008 is going to be the turning point with the Wii, in sales and public opinion. People can argue that it still has games on the way such as Smash Bros's but fail to realise that Nintendo's software will only attract its loyal fanbase, not the casual gamers who have never bought a console, who are the ones making Nintendo so rich. When non-gamers are bored of Wii sports Nintendo wont any anything to drive its console and thus we will see its decline. And thats just next year in my opinion, Nintendo think they can make the system last for up to 5 years but thats a complete joke. The PS3 and 360 have staying power, the Wii does not.

Yeah, the PS3 and 360 really have staying power, with their great 3rd party games, and affordable prices and great longevity before breaking.

The Wii will have the 3rd party companies flocking to them. With the amount of sales they have, they'll all want to make games for them. The PS3 costs way too much money to make games for.

And alot of people are overstating the amount of people buying the Wii that haven't bought another console before. I'm fairly sure that most of the Wii owners have played Mario and will most likely get Brawl.

[Dreddz]

Yeah, the PS3 and 360 really have staying power, with their great 3rd party games, and affordable prices and great longevity before breaking.

Your right, the 360 and PS3 do have great 3rd party support. And both consoles do have competative prices with the Wii, especially the 360. Oh, and as for breaking, that really only applys to the 360, the PS3 is a very reliable machine.

The Wii will have the 3rd party companies flocking to them. With the amount of sales they have, they'll all want to make games for them. The PS3 costs way too much money to make games for.

The Wii already has great 3rd party support but its unfortunate that no quality titles come from them. Can you name any real system sellers from 3rd parties on the Wii, no. Its Nintendo's built franchises that are important. Not Zak and Wiki unfortunately.

[Slothy]

Ever think that real hardcore gamers might actually be interested in trying the new things the Wii has to offer? Wave after wave of FPS games and a "new" Madden every year are pretty much the opposite of hardcore. I used to work for Xbox. I can tell you there's nothing hardcore about it's fanbase.

I would have liked not to argue about this, but my argumentative nature is getting the better of me so...

It's becoming obvious you don't actually understand what the typical definition of a hardcore or casual gamer even is (here you go though: Casual gamer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ). More importantly, you seem to be one of the people taken in by the hype and promise of new types of gameplay for the Wii. I can't blame you; I was excited when the first news of the controller came out and was hoping for some real innovation. If we got actual innovation, I'd be all over that. Instead what have we gotten? A glorified mouse with some tilt and motion sensing. What new gameplay types have we really gotten? We've got FPS' which even at their best (Metroid Prime) pale in comparison to the control of a mouse and keyboard. We get half assed motion control shoveled into games that don't need it because developers don't know what to do with it, but feel they have to use it since it's there. I'm still not sure why I have to shake the controller to do a spin attack or throw a fireball in Mario, but I do know it's neither innovative nor necessary. And we've got games based around mini games, which offer little in the way of depth, real challenge or innovative use of the controller. And of course there are the Gamecube ports which again, make poor use of the controller for the most part, or at least don't do anything spectacular with it. And we can't forget Nintendo's first party titles, which so far have been content to do the same thing the series' have been doing for years, all while doing the least with the controller.

I'm all for trying new things, I'm just wondering when Nintendo and third parties are going to actually figure out how to do something new with the controller. I doubt it will happen though.

As for Cactuar's comment on the demographic; you may doubt it's casual gamers only buying it, and I certainly don't have a demographic breakdown for the console, but I've seen enough anecdotal evidence to support the idea. I only ever see mothers with their small children looking at them or the games in stores, and there's certainly been enough talk in media of the elderly even playing it. Toss in Twilight Princesses (the only game that could really be seen as being a hardcore game at launch) disappointing sales, and my own experience with only my sister (casual gamer) and one of my friends having, or even wanting a Wii for that matter, and I'd believe it's mainly casual gamers buying it. For the record, my friend who has one barely plays it anymore, and he a lot of people I've seen talking about their Wii online seems to be playing the waiting game when it comes to playing it. They were waiting after Zelda for Metroid, then waiting for Mario Galaxy, and now waiting for Smash Bros. and later Mario Kart. Many of the people who seem to say they're waiting for the next big Nintendo release usually accompany that statement with the fact that their Wii is going unplayed except on the rare occasion a bunch of people are over.

Finally, I just want to say that 3rd parties aren't likely to bring anything but casual games to the table anytime soon. Given how easy it is to develop a casual game for the Wii, and considering they're what the majority of users seem to be after, no company is going to go out of their way to make a game that the user base won't play. In fact, I'd say that's the biggest piece of evidence that the Wii fanbase only wants casual games; if they weren't selling well, developers wouldn't still be making them.

[Roto13]

1. I fail to see what a keyboard and mouse has anything to do with the console gaming.

2. Even if what you say is true (and it's not) and the only ones buying the Wii are casual gamers who spend a few minutes playing every now and then, it appears to be working because it's STILL in the lead in the console race, which is what this thread is about if you'll read the first post.

3. The rest of your post is feces flowing awkwardly from your fingertips, but like I said, it has nothing to do with the topic so I'm not going to bother with it. I refuse to give you any more opportunity to spout your self-righteousness about how much of a hardcore gamer you are for having an Xbox or whatever.

[Slothy]

1. I fail to see what a keyboard and mouse has anything to do with the console gaming.

When talking about the possibilities offered by the Wii, a keyboard and mouse have a great deal to do with some genres, because as much as the Wii controller may be better for some genres than others, it's not as well suited to FPS or RTS games as a keyboard and mouse. Something many thought it would be perfect for.

2. Even if what you say is true (and it's not) and the only ones buying the Wii are casual gamers who spend a few minutes playing every now and then, it appears to be working because it's STILL in the lead in the console race, which is what this thread is about if you'll read the first post.

I never said casual gamers are the only ones buying the Wii, I said they're the target customers for it by and large, which is true. Nintendo has stated it well enough on multiple occasions, and like I said, it seems to be the way things are working out. Yeah, people who spend a lot of their leisure time playing games, and who could be considered hardcore gamers are buying it too, but Nintendo, and in particular, third party companies are doing little to really cater to them. I acknowledged the fact that it's in the lead, and doing very well for Nintendo right now. But I also acknowledge the fact that it is targeting a different demographic.

3. The rest of your post is feces flowing awkwardly from your fingertips, but like I said, it has nothing to do with the topic so I'm not going to bother with it. I refuse to give you any more opportunity to spout your self-righteousness about how much of a hardcore gamer you are for having an Xbox or whatever.

I don't claim to be a hardcore gamer in any respect other than the fact that I spend a good portion of my free time playing games, and I like a gameplay experience that lasts for several hours at least, and provides a good challenge. The Wii doesn't cater to me in that regard overall, or to gamers after the same sort of gaming experience. Everything I've said pertains to this thread, as everything I've said pertains to the Wii's place in the console war. It caters to the casual market, something which is obviously quite large based on the sales Nintendo is enjoying and that's a market that no one has ever specifically targeted before. In an age where Nintendo can't really afford to spend years and millions of dollars developing powerful consoles to go toe to toe with Sony and Microsoft, they found a market that was going unserviced and took advantage of it. I commend them for that in fact, as it was rather ingenious. Whether I like what they're doing or not, I certainly respect them for it, and unlike Dreddz, I don't see it's popularity dying off in the coming year. Maybe among people who don't like casual games, but in general I don't see it's popularity dying off anytime soon.

And I don't own an Xbox.

[Madame Adequate]

Way to miss his point, roto.

I think the Wii is at risk of not lasting like the others. I see the PS3 becoming something I own one day. I'm already very, very happy with the 360's lineup. I don't see myself getting a Wii soon, or with much enthusiasm. I see only two things on the Wii worth talking about - NiGHTS, and Brawl. NiGHTS isn't as good as I was hoping, so I've no imperative to get a Wii for it. Brawl isn't out for awhile yet. Aside from those two, I don't need a bunch of minigame compilations - I have XBLA for that and Track and Field > Most of the Wii's lineup.

[The Fat Bioware Nerd]

There's a Wii exclusive being released on February 10th callled "No More Heroes" but there doesn't seem to be any hype surrounding that game...I think it's because Suda 51 doesn't even know if the game is going to "WORK" on the Wii.

Suda 51 said "Developing a game for the Wii was like developing a title for the Super Nintendo you don't have a lot of buttons to work with."

[Zeldy]

Ive been like a huge Nintendo fan girl since I can remember, and I think that the Wii are over-doing all the mini-game type games, because tbh, they look absolutely appalling. I wish it would go back to the days of the N64 when every single game released for it were amazing, pretty much, and were more unique. (we need more games like 'Banjo Kazooie'!) I have a Wii and a 360 (well, my brother does ;]) and Im not sure, I play the 360 more for Guitar Hero; Guitar Hero is coming out on the Wii, but my brother already has it for the 360, so he isnt exactly going to buy it twice!

Saying that, though, the Wii seems to be thrashing both the 360 and the ps3. When I worked at HMV, there were people ringing up every half hour seeing if there was a Wii in stock. When there finally was some in stock they were gone in an hour. There was like 20 360s in stock and I didnt see any of them leave the stock room.

[JKTrix]

I like Azar's comment, as it kinda fits "The Wii's Place In The Console War".

I don't care to make a valid 'there's more on Wii than party/mini games and Nintendo games' argument, but I can understand how people see it that way. Much like how people see the 360 as a Shooter machine. Sadly, the way things appear right now seems that Nintendo doesn't need 'us'. And in response, 'we' aren't buying it. But that's not really affecting them at all.

Because of this, I feel the Wii 'bubble' will burst. It's kind of unpredictable when it will be, but without the Core audience it won't carry itself for long after its mainstream popularity peaks. I think Nintendo realized this from the start and may be waiting for those signs before they reveal the NES6 (assuming Wii=NES5, etc).

I don't think it's hard to believe that Nintendo has already been working on a true 'Next Gen' system. I mentioned before that Nintendo doesn't need 'us' right now, but for sure they aren't satisfied with that. Whether or not they can get the core gamers back will be the real challenge for them when that time comes.

[Skyblade]

I'm not sure if I'm a hardcore or a casual gamer. I spend much of my free time gaming, enjoy talking about games, and analyzing them, and I pick up new games whenever I can. Yet, I'm not a total gaming nerd who will wait outside stores for days and spend 600 bucks on a system. If that's what it takes to be hardcore, I'm not a hardcore gamer and I'm quite happy with that. I am a solid gamer who enjoys quality games at affordable prices. Nintendo and the Wii offer that, and no other system does, which is why they are winning. Say what you like, but I don't think that the differences in visual quality between the systems are nearly enough to justify picking a console based on that. The Wii is easily the most solid system out there at the moment, and will likely remain that way. The 360 has a bad case of the gremlins, and breaks fairly consistently, from what I've been told, and the PS3 costs way too much money for what you get out of it. Nintendo has chosen to sacrafice some useless features in exchange for a solid system that pretty much everyone can afford and that works consistently. I doubt that losing gamers who are willing to shell out tons of money for a system and every game that comes out for it is really going to hurt them, either in the short run or the long haul. Economics 101, it's better to sell lots of items at a smaller price than a few items at a higher price.

[Shlup]

I got my Wii in October and I still had to go to nine stores before I found a Wal Mart that had one left with a damaged box. But she's my baby.

The 360 just doesn't have the types of games I like, for the most part. I'm sure the games it has are good, and it has good software, but the Wii games are more my style. Playing Twilight Princess over the last couple of months saved my sanity.

[qwertysaur]

I got my Wii in October and I still had to go to nine stores before I found a Wal Mart that had one left with a damaged box. But she's my baby.

Thak is kinda like how I got my Wii. I found it in a Costco in Boca last December. There were about 10 on display, and all of the people who lived there didn't know what they were. It was even packaged with Twilight Princess.

I like the Wii because the games are more fun and different. You can't cook eggs on an 360 game, nor would anybody think of doing so. I can also play games with my 7 year old cousin, because the controls are simple enough so she can understand how to play. She loves to play Cooking Mama and Wii play.

[Markus. D]

Wii is kewl! I want an RPG for it now though :[

[Raebus]

Probably not too relevant to this thread but it made me chuckle.

As for my serious post, the wii's place is uncertain. It's doing great right now but...who know's how well it'll be doing a few month or even a year from now.